ESCOBAR Y LLAMAS AND DE TOLEDO VICEROYS. 209 



Don Diego Osorio Escobar y Llamas, Bishop of Puebla. 



XXIV. Viceroy of New Spain. 



1664. 



The reign of this ecclesiastic was remarkable for nothing except 

 its extraordinarily brief duration. The bishop entered upon his 

 duties on the 29th of June, and resigned them in favor of his suc- 

 cessor on the 15th of the next October. 



Don Sebastian de Toledo, Marques de Mancera ; 



XXV. Viceroy of New Spain. 



1664—1673. 



New Spain enjoyed profound internal peace when Don Sebastian 

 arrived in the capital on the 15th of October, 1664. But the 

 calm of the political world does not seem to have extended to the 

 terrestrial, for, about this period, occurred one of the few eruptions 

 of the famous mountain of Popocatepetl, — the majestic volcano 

 which lies on the eastern edge of the valley, and is the most 

 conspicuous object from all parts of the upper table lands of 

 Mexico. For four days it poured forth showers of stones from its 

 crater and then, suddenly, subsided into quietness. 



In the beginning of 1666 a royal cedula was received from the 

 queen apprising her faithful subjects of her husband's death, and 

 that during the minority of Charles II. the government would be 

 carried on by her. The loss of Jamaica, during the last reign was 

 irreparable for Spain. The possession of so important an island 

 by the British, enabled the enemies of Castile to find a lurking 

 place in the neighborhood of her richest colonies from which the 

 pirates and privateers could readily issue for the capture of Spanish 

 commerce or wealth. The armada of the Marques of Cadareita, 

 was useless against the small armed craft which not only possessed 

 great advantages in swiftness of sailing, but was able, also, to 

 escape from the enemies' pursuit or guns in the shallows along the 

 coast into which the larger vessels dared not follow them. But 

 the general war in Europe which had troubled the peace of the old 

 world for so many years, had now drawn to a close, and a peace 

 was once more, for a while re-established. The ambitious desires 

 of the Europeans, were now, however, turned towards America, 

 and, with eager and envious glances at the possessions of the 



